Trading Places (shadowed spaces)
by Lana Archer
Summary: Lily Salvatore kills Bonnie Bennett. What happens after that, no one expected


**Description:** Stefan refused to give up on his mother and Damon didn't give a shit either way but their efforts to reign her in lead to a backlash from her and her 'family', in turn, resulting in Bonnie's death as their mother's way of sending a clear message that she does not want anything to do with them or their love. When Stefan rushes off to find Elena and Damon is left unconscious next to the body of his dead best friend, someone else wakes up to the sight of the younger Salvatore – sending them all down the rabbit hole.

* * *

 **Trading Places (Shadowed Spaces)**

 _ **Death is a kindness, to the dying**_

 _This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening, oh god, why is this happening – if she's dead, she must be dead, how could she not be dead, Damon, poor Damon, how could she?_

Stefan's thoughts were as scattered and blurred as the trees he was speeding past on his way to the Salvatore mausoleum. He didn't know how much time he had, didn't know if he even had a brother anymore. All he knew was that a single moment had passed between him and Damon and he'd heard his brother loud and clear as if he'd spoke. ' _Get Elena_.' He hadn't had time to look at Caroline, hadn't thought to, if he was honest with himself. All he knew was that Bonnie was dead and that meant he had to get to Elena before she ended up with Lily's hand in her chest as well. He was sure the only reason he'd even made it out of the clearing was Caroline; Damon had still been on the floor, covered in Bonnie's blood. Some of it had found its way onto Caroline as well, the smell pulling forth her vampiric façade for an entirely different reason. He didn't know if her fury would get her killed, and he really hoped that Damon still had it in him to fight.

Skidding through a pool of leaves and turning left Stefan almost flew into her coffin as he came to stop in front of. It was still closed, the crypt had been untouched before his presence; he could sense as much so, with full confidence and employing sufficient strength, he tore off the lid. A loud gasp distracted him as his eyes flew back into the mouth of the wooden box; so prettily lined with the finest silk and thick cushioning. He expected a distressed Elena, a groggy one, a distraught one…at the very least he expected _Elena_.

"What the fuck?" She yelled. The girl, who was definitely not Elena. Her wide dark brown eyes fell on him and she flinched, further into the box, away from him. "Who are you?" She yelped in a shaking British accent, "Why am I…" she looked down with horrified eyes, "In a coffin," when she looked back up at Stefan, "Where is Eric? Maya?" Stefan remained dumbstruck, "… _Kyle_?" She wailed, taking his silence as their apparent demise. He took in her dark brown skin, her matted but curled black hair as it waved down, past her shoulders. Her slight frame and her…subtly outdated clothing. "I'm…" Her shaking hands cupped over her knees as she pulled them up and looked down at herself. "Am I … _alive_?" She looked back up at him, so full of hope, like her hurried heart wasn't the most deafening sound in the room. Stefan blinked, finally and moved closer to her. She screamed and her hand flew out, sending him careening backwards. He looked up in time to see her gaping at her still extended hand, turning the palm to her face, taking in a sharp breath. "Oh no," she began sobbing, "No, no, no, no…"

* * *

"Damon?" Caroline's voice was shredded through with pain. Her own physical pain and something much more erosive. _Bonnie was supposed to live a full life, hell, even Kai, permitting that Damon chose right, gave her sixty years to be, before it ended._ She hauled herself upright. _Bonnie wasn't supposed to die because Lily got mad and wanted to hurt Damon._ Caroline bit her lip to stop from crying out, even though she was already crying. _Bonnie wasn't supposed to die like this, not after everything._ "Damon?" She turned her head, looked left and right, but outside of the bodies of the two Heretics she'd managed to send back to Hell, she was completely alone. Damon and Bonnie's body where nowhere to be found, and, though some part of her felt cheated, she knew Damon well enough to know that he hadn't given up yet, and she knew that was what Bonnie needed. She just didn't know if hope was worth having anymore.

* * *

"Who are you?" Stefan asked as he rose to his feet, "What are you…How are you even inside of there?" He pointed an accusatory finger in her direction and she snarled a little before lifting her brows incredulously. She dipped her head and frowned intensely at him, like he wasn't making any sense.

"Listen here," her husky voice snapped in its terse enunciation, "I'm the one who woke up in a coffin today, yeah? I think it's fair to say that I should be asking the questions here, Edward Cullen, not you." She clicked her tongue and struggled upright, lifting herself up and out of the coffin and landing awkwardly on her feet. She wasn't much in the height department, an inch or two taller than Bonnie. "The audacity of some of you…" She muttered angrily, dusting off her faded denims, flicking her hair over her one shoulder as she turned back to him with her arms crossed. "So then, what should I call you?" She asked, "Or do you get called that often enough to accept it?" Stefan's mouth plopped open and she rolled her dark eyes. "Whenever you're ready." She sighed. Blinking he took a step towards her, then another, his hands splayed out between them. She looked him up and down, almost insulted by his means to placate her.

"Stefan," he said finally and she nodded, still frowning at him, "Stefan Salvatore."

"Where am I, Stefan Salvatore?" She pressed.

"Mystic Falls?" He quirked a brow, like she should have known, her pensive chewing on her bottom lip illustrated otherwise.

"The coffin…" She gestured behind her, "Who did it belong to?" Stefan lowered his gaze for a moment and she found herself intrigued. With a flutter of her lashes she latched onto his train of thought and delved into his head. He winced and huffed under the weight of her intrusion, eyes snapping up to her face. With a quick blink she released him and blew air out from her puffed cheeks. "Elena Gilbert." She sounded out the two words, they felt strange to her, alien, and there were no ties she could fathom between the two of them. Stefan was kind of lost in the moment of what had just happened, and oddly fascinated by the way she pronounced Elena's name. Ah-Lay-Na Gill-Buht. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell." She decided, giving him a once over. "But something tells me you're not likely to let me leave without answering questions I'm sure you at least have a _sneaking suspicion_ that I don't have the answers to." Stefan sort of shrugged at that. "Even though you know I'm a _witch_ …" Her face hardened, "Who is more than willing to kill you to get some answers of her own."

"Look," Stefan spoke up, his wits at last about him, "My friend was supposed to be in there, _alive_ , my other friend has just _died_ and _my brother_ , he's not going to be happy you're the only one alive after _everything_ he's just been through. In all honesty I'm the least of your problems and I'd suggest you become a little more cooperative about all…this," he waved a hand over her general person, "Because it's only the beginning I'm guessing."

"I don't have time for you or Damon." She snapped. "I need to get home!"

"You're wearing a denim jacket and three quarter pastel coloured pants," Stefan snarked, "I doubt we're nearby." She paused then and took in his attire.

"…What, uh," she cleared her throat with a curious forefinger pointed upwards, "What year is it?"

"2015." He said casually and her eyes bugged.

"Well, _shit_."

* * *

When Lily had come for him, his only thought was to protect Bonnie. Even if it was just her body now, he couldn't let his serpent of a mother ruin any more than she already had. Luckily Caroline had gone all out and managed to hack her way through two of the witchpires before Lily turned her advances on the blonde. Damon was still looking over at Bonnie, even as his vision went in and out of focus from whatever spell had been cast on him by those … _things_. He knew enough of magic to know that all he needed was a witch reckless enough to bring Bonnie back for him. Kai had said not to tamper with the spell, but he didn't say anything about bringing Bonnie back as well if she died, and though he'd never thought or wanted it to come to Bonnie's death he was really hoping that this would work. That he could have her back too, he needed her back. Even when he'd had Elena he'd still needed Bonnie. When he thought of becoming human he'd pictured Bonnie with him as well…it was what he'd wanted. Before, of course…now he just wanted Stefan to call and assure him that Elena was safe and for Lucy to answer her damn phone and get this hex off of him, and someone he could kill so this whole life-for-a-life thing could finally work in his favour. Looking down at the limp body of Bonnie Bennett as he flashed jaggedly through the woods, flailing this way and that, he hoped and prayed that things would for once, _just once_ , work out as they should.

* * *

Caroline realised two things when the world finally shifted back into a recognisable shape. One, both Damon and Stefan had run off to protect Bonnie and Elena, respectively. Now, while she understood the merit behind these choices, she really hated that she hadn't at least gotten a signal, a warning, a helping hand…a fucking _phone call_. Growling she stumbled through the woods, covered in dirt, leaves and blood. Two, she realised that she was basically left for dead. Because while they were off running after the people they loved more than they should, she was kicking ass and getting her ass kicked trying to avenge her best friend's death. It broke her heart to know that Bonnie would have had her back, except…Bonnie was dead now. Bonnie was dead and Elena was back. She should be feeling something, she knew, but she was feeling something else instead, and it wasn't pretty. Her heart was aching and squirming around in her chest all at once and it was making her head spin. Falling against and leaning all of her weight against one of the trees she exhaled; long and hard, trying to figure out where exactly she was at that point so that she could get home. Take a bath. And just cry.

* * *

"Come on," Stefan said, as he and…whoever she was hurried through the woods with him itching to just lift her up and run with vampire speed, "It's not safe."

"Uh, Stefan," she said his name like an obvious answer to a stupid question, "No one knows who I am here, and from what I've gathered from your way too convoluted brain processes, is that your mum and her … _mates_ are well on their way away if that blonde bombshell has anything to do with it," he cut a sharp glare at her, "What? You don't see it? Is that why you ran off so quick to crack open the coffin?" She prodded, "Thought you moved on from that one?"

"How much did you see when you…?"

"Enough to know you never used to frown so much." She tutted, "Must be the old age finally setting in."

"I still don't know your name." He pointed out, grabbing at her arm despite her yelping protest. They needed to get to the Boarding House, and fast.

"Because I didn't tell you." She sassed, "And keeping tugging at me like this and my name will be the least of your concerns, I can tell you that much."

"Well, could I hurry this up then?" He turned to her, exasperated, his voice growing louder. She quirked a brow at him and nodded.

"All you had to do was ask." She said, extending her arms out to him, even hopping up a bit when he moved to lift her. "Silly nana." He ignored her and sped off as she chuckled at his incessant frowning, him hoping someone would be there when he arrived that he actually wanted to see. When they arrived he caught a whiff of Caroline's scent and hurried along with it. He found the blonde strewn on one of the couches, clearly in pain. Through his periphery he could see the girl in his arms frowning. "Down." She muttered, tapping his arm, her eyes stuck on Caroline. "She needs my help." Stefan set the witch on her feet and she made her way to Caroline, paused and turned to him, "You can trust me when I say this, I won't hurt her, or any of you. Unless I am provoked, I have no reason to be a threat to any of you, and," her gaze flickered to the blonde, "If this is what she looks like, I suggest you find your brother" He watched her walk to Caroline and sink to her knees. "Hello?" she called softly, "I'm going to need you to respond to me girly, I don't much like talking to myself." Caroline groaned. "…Better." Eyelashes fluttered and opened, the witch grinning when a pair of pale blue eyes landed on her face. "Hiya!" She beamed while the vampire's frown looked set to be engraved in her forehead. "Is that a thing you two do then?" The stranger went on, "Just frown your way through whole conversations with people? Not very polite."

"Who are you?" Caroline wondered while the witch smiled.

"Not Elena Gilbert unfortunately," She sighed as her own eyes scoured the vampire's appearance, flickering back up to her face her brows lifted along with her hands, "May I?" She smiled at the ongoing confusion, "If I don't counter whatever spell it is that's been cast on you, you're going to start hallucinating and bleeding out and all sorts of fun things until you're nothing but a shrivelled up, grey prune-looking thing." Caroline pulled a face even through her exhaustion, "And what a waste that would be." She chuckled a bit. "It's a standard hex, you see, whoever did this to you is old school. That, or a new witch that doesn't know anything more fun." Caroline's disapproval noted, she clamped her mouth shut and raised her hands over the blonde's body, chanting all the while. Caroline felt the pull of the magic, its invisible fingers ghosting over her skin, stitching, dredging, healing, soothing. When the chanting stopped she felt a thousand times better.

"Thank you…" Caroline said as she sat up properly, the witch nodded.

"It's Odette." She said sweetly, her gaze over her shoulder at Stefan when she spoke, before looking back. "My name's Odette, and for some reason, I took Elena's place in whatever spell bound her life to your friend Bonnie's."

"How is that even possible?" Caroline stammered, "Her life was tied to Elena's."

"Yeah well," Odette stood upright and folded her arms over her chest, "Shit happens when you leave someone's soul in limbo. Especially a doppelgänger, and _especially_ when a coven as powerful as mine hauls ass to save my life."

"You high-jacked the spell?" Caroline gaped. Odette wiggled a hand side to side.

"Not me," Odette reminded her, "My coven."

"You're a witch and a doppelgänger?" Stefan interjected. She nodded at him. "Who were you fated to?"

"Eric or Kyle you mean?" She gave him a knowing smile, "Neither, to be honest, the entire line of the one I was bound to was slaughtered." She made a clicking sound with her tongue, emphasising the sudden awkwardness. "Helped the Elders keep me in check you see." She smiled coldly at whatever memory the conversation had sparked. "Look, the only way to get to the bottom of what they did to the spell is to get back to them."

"Where are they?" Caroline wondered.

"It's not so much _where_ ," she emphasised, her voice tapering off as Damon sped into the room with Bonnie in his arms and his phone pressed between his ear and his shoulder, "As it is when." Damon's phone slipped out of his grip and fell to the floor as he locked eyes with Odette. "Oh yeah," she said in the sudden quiet of the room, "He's definitely going to try and kill me."

* * *

 **A/N:** This was just a spur of the moment idea and this is where it took me, if you'd like me to keep it going, you know how to let me know XOXO Stay excellent.


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